Creeps, threats and untraceable calls: Women who cover sports on TV share their stories
The Indianapolis Star - July 3, 2022
INDIANAPOLIS - They are on television every night. They’re on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium after Indianapolis Colts games. They’re outside Assembly Hall before Indiana plays Purdue and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They cover high school football games on Friday nights.
IndyStar spoke with nine women who have spent time as sports reporters and anchors in Indiana. We asked them about the struggles they face and the hurdles they’ve overcome to get here.
JoJo Gentry's first job out of college came in Evansville, where she became the first woman to cover sports in the market as a reporter at WEVV. She later spent more than two years as a sports reporter and anchor at FOX59 and CBS4 in Indianapolis.
"I remember attending a community event to introduce myself as their new local sports journalist," she said. "My first interaction with those men turned into a pop quiz. I will never forget a man pointing at me and saying, 'I bet you don't even know the most famous baseball player from your hometown (Anderson, Indiana.)' I tried to keep my cool. I forced myself to make eye contact with them and smile. When I said, 'I've actually played golf with Carl Erskine,' their smiles and claps indicated approval of me. But it took me explaining that I know sports, and even played Division I golf at Butler, to feel accepted."
